Newgarden Takes St. Pete

New Ganassi Kid; Old Penske Result

Josef Newgarden ran longer, harder and faster during his middle stint of IndyCar’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, and the effort paid off in the end. Newgarden spun up his 2019 NTT IndyCar Series season by finishing 2.8998 ahead of series champion Scott Dixon. It was the 11th triumph of Newgarden’s eight-year NTT IndyCar Series career but first on the 14-turn, 1.8-mile temporary street course.

“I feel like we executed today,” Newgarden said. “We were very patient in the beginning of the race. We had a right-to-left, different tire strategy again today, and it really paid off. I actually think it’s what helped us create the opportunity.